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'Netgate?' Caddo Magnet benefits from call to advance

The Caddo Magnet coaches were calling it “Netgate” as they walked off the field at Lee Hedges Stadium Saturday afternoon.

The Hammond coaches were calling it much worse after their squad ended up on the wrong side of a controversial 1-0 decision in the opening round of the Division I boys soccer playoffs.

The play that had everyone scratching their heads occurred in the 17th minute of the second half in a scoreless game. Hammond sophomore Axel Villatoro used his speed to get past the Mustangs defense and fire a shot toward the net.

The ball ended up 50 yards behind the goal, but appeared to have gone through the net. The Tornadoes began celebrating, thinking they had just taken a huge lead in a match where scoring was clearly going to be at a premium.

However, the referee signaled for a goal kick. The Hammond side questioned whether the ball may have gone through a hole in the net, but play continued.

Ten minutes later, the Mustangs executed a set piece off a free kick that got the ball in front of the net, where Ali Ibrahim was able to touch it past the keeper for a clear goal.

Frustration didn’t begin to set in for the No. 22 Tornadoes (11-10) until after the final whistle, when they realized their season was ending in heartbreaking fashion.

“It’s pretty hard to drive five hours here only to have the refs take a goal away from you,” said Hammond coach Joseph Petz, who was understandably upset.

“They were a good team, but I felt like we were the better team out there today and our guys deserved to win.”

The statistics heavily favored the Tornadoes, who outshot the Mustangs 12-6. They also controlled possession for much of the second half until the Mustangs’ goal. Caddo Magnet keeper Peyton Simons earned a clean sheet with six saves in net.

However it was the net itself that received most of the attention after the game. A quick check of the net after the game revealed two larger holes caused by a rip in the string.

Caddo Magnet coach Nick Flowers was sympathetic toward Hammond after the game, admitting his first reaction was that he thought it was a goal, too.

“I’m sure they are frustrated,” Flowers said. “Hammond played a great game and certainly deserved to get a result.

“But fortunately for us we came away with it.”

Caddo Magnet captain Jacob Gill said Saturday’s game was a microcosm of their entire season.

“We tend to get ourselves down and have to pick ourselves back up,” Gill said. “In a tie game, it can change in just a matter of seconds. You know when you see something like that, you have to pick it up.”